Baha'is express gratitude for open letter of support by Iranians

NEW YORK, 15 February (Baha'i
World News Service) - The Baha'i International Community has issued a
statement of gratitude to the Iranian intellectuals, scholars, writers,
journalists, activists, and artists throughout the world who signed an
open letter apologizing for their
silence during Iran's long-running persecution of the Baha'is.

The open letter from the Iranians - dated 3 February
and signed so far by 243 men and women living in 19 countries - had asked
Baha'is to forgive them "for the wrongs committed against the Baha'i community
of Iran" over the last century and a half.

"We will no longer be silent when injustice is
visited upon you," the letter said after enumerating some of the ways Baha'is
have been persecuted, from "barbaric murders" to depriving youth of higher
education.

In response, the Baha'i International Community told
the signatories that the letter "brought a degree of solace and relief to the
pain that your Baha'i fellow citizens endure."

"On their behalf and that of the Baha'is throughout
the world we convey our profound gratitude and appreciation for a deed of such
historical moment," the Baha'i message said, referring to the publication of the
open letter.

The letter was particularly significant, said the
Baha'i response, in that it rejected the milieu of intimidation created by
Iranian authorities throughout the decades that served to silence "those
fair-minded and informed individuals who had always wished to rise up" in
support of the Baha'is.

Indeed, in a press statement yesterday, the
organizers behind the letter said that many more people would like to sign.

"We are confident," their statement said, "that many
more individuals, responsible and humane individuals, both inside and outside
Iran, will add their seal of approval to it, as they become aware of such a
letter, and we hope that the independent and committed Iranian media will join
us in disseminating this message."

The open letter began with the heading "We are
ashamed! A century and a half of oppression and silence is enough!"

"We are ashamed that during the last 30 years, the
killing of Baha'is solely on the basis of their religious beliefs has gained
legal status and over 200 Baha'is have been slain on this account," said one
clause.

"We are ashamed that a group of intellectuals have
justified coercion against the Baha'i community if Iran," the letter continued.

The letter ended thus: "We stand by you in achieving
all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights. Let
us join hands in replacing hatred and ignorance with love and tolerance."

The Baha'i response also ended with a statement of
hope: "The ardent hope of Iranian Baha'is is to be able to labor, shoulder to
shoulder, with their compatriots for the progress and exaltation of their
country that it may assume its seat of honor and glory among the family of
nations."